The Caged Bird Screams

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THE CAGED BIRD SCREAMS


that having tasted fresh baguette 

beside the royal palace at Versailles, 

you shouldn't be surprised to find

the supermarket brand is now a hint

pedestrian, for lack of better words.

Or spell it out another way—expect

the noise machine beside your clock

to seem increasingly inadequate towards


reassuring you you’re drifting next

to the Pacific once you’ve listened

to the tidal clack of pebbles along

a Northern California coastline. Of course!

So why, on having glimpsed the upper-

R, are you amazed to ascertain reality 

a tad bit suffocating now, specifically  

considering you've known a taste of air?

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